The Flow of Material Knowledge

Google Doodle strikes again!

When I saw today’s Google Doodle, I immediately recognized Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, whose contributions to behavioral psychology were integral for me to develop my own educational philosophy. I have mentioned Csikszentmihalyi in prior Artfully Learning posts (see: prior posts) in order to highlight the importance that playful and creative thinking and activity has on our overall well-being. I am sure that these aforementioned concepts are familiar to most of us, whether we were aware of Csikszentmihalyi or not.

As a graduate student studying Art Education, Csikszentmihalyi’s essay “Why We Need Things” was a key text for gaining insight into the value and potential of learning through materials-based explorations. The materials that we encounter on a daily basis are full of meaning, both inherit to their physical properties (i.e. being hard, soft, light, dark, etc.) and affordances that we assign to them based on a variety of factors such as culture (personal and/or collective), identity and prior experience. He describes objects as having positive and negative consequences on our personal lives and within the culture we are a part of. Objects give us power, they become extensions of ourselves, and remind us of social interactions and other moments in our lives. They can also become an addiction or a crutch for us to get by more easily.

Csikszentmihalyi’s theories are also important to know because they support giving children activities that challenge their whole self (i.e. their social, emotional and cognitive responses to issues, themes or topics). In art education we teach students to both learn from the affordances of raw materials and to manipulate the materials’ properties in ways that create new meaning. As artists we learn to manifest and express meaning from both objects and experiences. Therefore, being critically engaged and observant of a material’s multifaceted qualities via an embodied experience, such as making art, has enormous implications on how we value ourselves, others and the environment(s) we inhabit.

As I stated before, Csikszentmihalyi’s research had personal significance to my development as an educator, and my ability to later advocate for the benefits of art throughout the entire school curriculum. Art is a tough subject to teach and learn in school. There is a general misconception that it is easy and/or a break from the rigors of the academic curriculum.

Unlike math or science, there is generally more freedom in what can be taught because art relies on subjectivity far more than those subjects. Art serves an important role within academics because it requires a combination of theory and methodology (that are actually akin to applied sciences and math), intuition and fantastical faculty. We have opinions on what is “good” art and what is “bad” art. These opinions are part of the critical, social and emotional aspects of art, and they are beneficial for developing an understanding and appreciation of different perspectives. But art is also a technical endeavor, and art educators utilize more objective approaches (i.e. the elements of art and principles of design) to help students understand and apply the formalist elements of art so that they can articulate their vision in a way that someone viewing their art can best understand and respond to.

For example, as I have seen firsthand, students might become overwhelmed by the process of creating a full fledged depiction of New York City. This does in fact sound ambitious, however, as Csikszentmihalyi stated, challenging and engaging activities gives children a strong sense of purpose (Scherer, 2002). By challenging the student, educators are ensuring that their students gain a high-level of skills required to address the challenge.

It is important to scaffold challenging projects and lessons so that students are afforded the sense of autonomy and fearlessness. Instructional scaffolding such as materials-based explorations that break down the more complex forms of city architecture into simplified shapes, will help students organize their concept and build upon critical artistic skills that are necessary to fulfill their vision. 

Introducing materials-based explorations as a means to advance technique and criticality is a good way to minimize frustration, and give students a more replete sense of fulfillment and purpose. The use of instructional scaffolding, as well as setting up a classroom environment that promotes both collaborative and independent work with materials, will help students think and work both deductively and inductively, and shift their focus between visualizing abstract and concrete forms and concepts. 

The scenario described reflects Csikszentmihalyi’s fundamental scientific study of happiness and creativity. He came up with the term “flow,” which he defined in his own words as “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). In fact, the artistic and experiential educational process largely adheres to the following eight characteristics of flow (Oppland, 2016):

1. Complete concentration on the task;
2. Clarity of goals and reward in mind and immediate feedback;
3. Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down);
4. The experience is intrinsically rewarding;
5. Effortlessness and ease;
6. There is a balance between challenge and skills;
7. Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination;
8. There is a feeling of control over the task.

I associate both artmaking and education as a process, wherein it is often most advantageous to “go with the flow;” in other words, to be relaxed and focused on a situation or task as it proceeds, rather than trying to alter or control it to fit with any preconceived notions. Going with the flow allows me to tackle both anticipated and unforeseen challenges and most importantly, enjoy what I am doing because I am associating productivity, learning and creativity with an overarching sense of well-being and self-care. I have learned this from my own educational journey along with the pedagogical scaffolding from reading and applying Csikszentmihalyi’s insight on materials and flow.

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References, Notes, Suggested Reading: 

Csikszentmlhalyi, Mihaly. “Why We Need Things.” In History from Things, essays on Material Culture, edited by Steven Lubar and W. David Kingery. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993. pps. 20-29.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, New York: HarperCollins.

Oppland, Mike. “8 Traits of Flow According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,” positivepsychology.com, 16 December 2016. https://positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/

Scherer, Marge (2002). Do Students Care About Learning? A Conversation with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Educational Leadership, v60 n1 pp. 12-17.